Coburn: ‘More Than 1,000 Veterans May Have Died’ Thanks to VA Misconduct

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., contends that the Department of Veterans Affairs may be responsible for the deaths of more than 1,000 veterans.

“Over the past decade, more than 1,000 veterans may have died as a result of the VA’s misconduct and the VA has paid out nearly $1 billion to veterans and their families for its medical malpractice,” Coburn said in a statement.

“As is typical with any bureaucracy, the excuse for not being able to meet goals is a lack of resources. But this is not the case at the VA where spending has increased rapidly in recent years,” he added.

The latest allegation from Coburn came in connection with his office’s releasing a lengthy report on problems at the VA, just as a group of House-Senate conferees are set to hold the first formal meeting to work out differences between the two chambers’ VA accountability bills designed to get vets care in a timely fashion.

Coburn has emerged as one of the leading voices on VA health issues in the Senate Republican Conference, and he has been appointed to serve on the conference committee.

In addition to alleging widespread cost overruns, fraud and abuse, Coburn’s report says that some $845 million has been paid to address medical malpractice claims since 2001.

Coburn also contends that the Veterans’ Affairs Committee in the Senate did not conduct the sort of vigorous oversight over the years in response to past reports of problems at the VA.

To go along with Coburn’s theory: MORE THAN 4,000 AMERICAN SERVICE PERSONNEL MAY HAVE DIED AS A RESULT OF BUSH’S BLUNDER.

Bob Viering

And how many Americans have died because their state won’t expand Medicaid? How many Americans died because they couldn’t get or afford healthcare?

Yonatan YONATAN

Do they really care? Has the government forgotten about the three million unemployed workers, and their families, STILL WITHOUT an extension of unemployment benefits since last December? While Billions of tax payers dollars are sent to the Ukraine in an aid package, more and more of these unemployed continue to sink into financial ruin. How can our government send our sons & daughters off to war, but not help their unemployed loved ones back at home? The republican senate has failed these millions of voters, and their families. These Americans have lost all trust and hope and respect for the government because of this lack of compassion, and common decency

The Beech Bums

The ideology of Hussein Obama is marxism.

Albert Aho

In some related video we find a brief summary of Obama’s lies about keeping your doctor and your insurance: http://youtu.be/8Gjpgn-AM1c

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About #WGDB

Niels Lesniewski has covered the Senate for CQ Roll Call since January 2010, and more recently as a staff writer and resident procedure guru for Roll Call. Niels holds degrees in both government and theater but sometimes can't tell the difference between the two. @nielslesniewski